Ahira's Hangar

I hated it when she told off Bannor, Foamy, and Mhoram, but had to give a little cheer when she told off Elena. Our lives are the songs that sing the universe into existence.~David Zindell
****Tavern Wench of DOGMA, the Defenders of George Martin's Art****<i></i>

So much animosity for Linden! But wasn't it the same for TC in the first chrons? I didn't like TC until the second chrons when he started trying to do something to stop LF. Before then, it was the Land and the people of the Land that kept me reading. Of course, I wanted TC to win in the end but I didn't much like him as a person (character?). It was only when he tried to defend the Land that I liked him. Now, of course, I love him and I also understand him better.

Maybe the third chrons will give us more info about Linden and maybe we will like her too! <i></i>

yes i think you're right .. I didnt much take to LA when i first met her .. I tolerated her I guess cos she was good to TC .. and she loved him .. and he desired someone's love.

I didnt hate her .. I just didnt like the Ceer incident .. and really loathed the mother incident .. but she had moved on from her past to some extent ..

she was a troubled character tho thats for sure .. in need of healing just like TC .. and most of us mortal our worlders .. some pretty messed up peeps we can be ..

but i think it was also .. accepting someone new .. in TC's territory .. i felt the same way about HT as a matter of fact ..

regrettable to admit .. I think I resent any new interloper on the scene .. till I get to know them better .. <i></i>

After rereading the incident with Ceer tonight, I agree with Drommond. I really do not think that she was fully aware of what she was doing. Taking Covenant's Elohim imposed isolation into herself put her back in the darkest moments of her life, with her dying parents.

The whole thing with her mother still gives me the complete creeps, though. In my mind it is clearly some form of manslaughter or murder, even though the mother was dying. I am leaning more towards the manslaughter than the premeditated murder, though. Linden was still young, she had lived through horrific things, she had been terribly emotionally abused, and I think she snapped.

It is too bad she wasn't caught, though - not for punishment, but for the help she so obviously needed. Not to mention that it would have been better had her mother not died in such a way - both for the mother and Linden herself.

Now that we are halfway through the Third Chronicles, what do people think of Linden now? Has your opinion of her changed as a result of Ruines or Revenant?

No-one replied to you Duchess! How rude!

I've always empathised with Linden. Not so much with her relationship to her parents (my parents are great) but in her psychological problems like her "black moods" (I'd already assigned the colour black to my depression when I read that- made me jump), her paralysis (intense situations tend to make me freeze up as well) and her vindictive anger (it takes a lot to make me angry, but if you manage to, I can be nasty. Something I'm slowly improving on). And I admired her ability to push her way through all that when it counted most. Voluntarily accepting the Sunbane into her at the end of WGW- that was for me as poignant as TC's self sacrifice (after all, TC had already done that once.)

In the Last Chrons, SRD's really been heaping despair on her head, at the same time making her incredibly powerful. She hasn't always handled that well, though I thought she was pretty awesome during most of Runes[i]. Guess that's why the whole thing was so important. (Are we still spoilering for FR? I did just in case.) Which character says that the main goal was to cause her as much pain as possible? The whole transformation was pretty important. Anyway, I admire her ability to just keep going despite huge internal and external pressure. I mean, That's pretty impressive in my book.

I can understand why some people find her irritating. But I have to say I'm a fan.

(Edit)

I agree with that last sentence. That was a harsh moment to read (the book not your post).

I had problems with Linden in this latest book, Against All Things Ending. Up until this book SRD has always had a great balance between introspection and action, and this book was tilted too much towards the introspection, especially in the first half. I think I spent too much time in Linden's head in this book to be comfortable.

But it will certainly be interesting to see how SRD reconciles the two attitudes. Both hold a lot of sympathy, at least with me.

I can definitely sympathize with both pov's, too. It will be interesting to see how it is addressed!